Dan Clark Audio E3 Review: Interview, Measurements, Impressions

[Frabera]

I sincerely do not think CHORD is the right choice for the E3 which is already very very detailed and has plenty of dynamics by itself.

 

[chesebert]

And I still maintain Mojo2 gets you 95%+ of the enjoyment and SQ of TT2, and the difference is not about power.

I don’t think you are wrong. We just have different reference: CFA3 vs TT2.

 

[Nomax]

Greetings from Munich




NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[eimis]

⁣

 

[chesebert]

Are we still talking about E3 or Composer?

 

[eimis]

⁣

 

[Daiyama]

Now I am also a E3 owner and this is one of the few headphones I need no EQ. Not that I am against EQ but you never really know if corrections by Ororatory or others are valid for your own headphone.
Little anecdote: I was at the Munich High End show and listend to a lot of other headphones (also quite expensive ones like RAAL 1995 Immanis or ZMF Caldra Closed) and thought let's see how my new E3 compares directly to these other headphones. So I went to the Astell&Kern booth were all could be demoed using the same song and I was shocked how liveless and without any "oompff" in the bass the E3 was playing and thought "well, bye bye E3, looks like it I need another headphone". But just across the Astell&Kern booth was another both with the E3, Stealth and Expanse in combination with a Zähl HM1, so I went there to compare these three and boom there was the "ooompff" and bass of the E3. Unfortunately I did not remember the the exact DAP from Astell&Kern (maybe a Kann something but totally not sure about this).
And as expected the E3 had the slightly more fun tuning compared to the Stealth and Expanse, so this validated my dicison for the E3.

 

[godmax]

Now I am also a E3 owner and this is one of the few headphones I need no EQ. Not that I am against EQ but you never really know if corrections by Ororatory or others are valid for your own headphone.
Little anecdote: I was at the Munich High End show and listend to a lot of other headphones (also quite expensive ones like RAAL 1995 Immanis or ZMF Caldra Closed) and thought let's see how my new E3 compares directly to these other headphones. So I went to the Astell&Kern booth were all could be demoed using the same song and I was shocked how liveless and without any "oompff" in the bass the E3 was playing and thought "well, bye bye E3, looks like it I need another headphone". But just across the Astell&Kern booth was another both with the E3, Stealth and Expanse in combination with a Zähl HM1, so I went there to compare these three and boom there was the "ooompff" and bass of the E3. Unfortunately I did not remember the the exact DAP from Astell&Kern (maybe a Kann something but totally not sure about this).
And as expected the E3 had the slightly more fun tuning compared to the Stealth and Expanse, so this validated my dicison for the E3.

Yea, also for me I can use the E3 without any EQ to enjoy. Even I had the initial intention to replace my Aeon 2 Closed with the E3, the bass quantity for me is still higher with the A2C and with EQ even more - so 'sadly' need to keep them both
I was also at High End this year and its really hard do make any educated listening since the overall noise level is so high that you tend to increase the volume so much that some headphones tend have advantage over others at this artificial levels, but at home you would probably never listen that loud. But the E3 still did very good in comparison to the rest and was not really surpassed by other headphones like the Immanis or Caldera Closed.
Interesting you mentioned the Zähl HM1, I also listened to the Heddphone Two on it and was really impressed (also in bass quality and quantity) - so the HM1 seems to make some things right in that regard, sadly too expensive

 

[TheFritz]

Yea, also for me I can use the E3 without any EQ to enjoy. Even I had the initial intention to replace my Aeon 2 Closed with the E3, the bass quantity for me is still higher with the A2C and with EQ even more - so 'sadly' need to keep them both
I was also at High End this year and its really hard do make any educated listening since the overall noise level is so high that you tend to increase the volume so much that some headphones tend have advantage over others at this artificial levels, but at home you would probably never listen that loud. But the E3 still did very good in comparison to the rest and was not really surpassed by other headphones like the Immanis or Caldera Closed.
Interesting you mentioned the Zähl HM1, I also listened to the Heddphone Two on it and was really impressed (also in bass quality and quantity) - so the HM1 seems to make some things right in that regard, sadly too expensive

I was also at the High End in Munich the last days and I listened to the DCA E3 on several amps and DAP to come to a conclusion if I really need another headphone... and I ordered it this mornig (no surprise).
However, at the AK area with all their DAPs some less brilliant people plugged the headphone-cables in the dedicated (4.4mm) Line-Out sockets of the AK-DAPs. I had to replug several times headphones over the two days. So the less than stellar performance some might have encountered might have been one of those cases.
And in my opinion almost every available headphone at the audionext booth sounded its best on the Zähl HM1.

 

[Toddy]

And in my opinion almost every available headphone at the audionext booth sounded its best on the Zähl HM1.

Interesting you mentioned the Zähl HM1, I also listened to the Heddphone Two on it and was really impressed (also in bass quality and quantity) - so the HM1 seems to make some things right in that regard, sadly too expensive

Quite interesting, how many of these were there. It felt like half a year's production run.

 

[Beagle]

His experiences of E3 indicated he was using an inadequate amp with the cans. An amp like CFA3 has no problem getting E3 to slam with lots of mid bass punch. This reviewer is useless as most of them are. The bass on E3 is SOTA regardless of price.

Edit1: Again, this reviewer either has terrible ears, inadequate gear, or don’t know how to listen because the soundstage of E3 is as deep as 800S and also among the best in terms of width and height. E3 also excels in separation (front/back, side to side and up and down) as well as space between instruments. The only issue with soundstage is it collapses around the very left and very right. In vast majority of songs you can hear around instrument very easily.

Edit2: granted E3 mid bass lacks a bit sustain compared with Utopia 2022 but makes up for it with the sub bass amount and definition. It goes way deep. Still no issue with punchy mid bass.

Edit3: my gear is CFA3 + Emm Labs so YMMV

His experiences of E3 indicated he was using an inadequate amp with the cans. An amp like CFA3 has no problem getting E3 to slam with lots of mid bass punch. This reviewer is useless as most of them are. The bass on E3 is SOTA regardless of price.

Edit1: Again, this reviewer either has terrible ears, inadequate gear, or don’t know how to listen because the soundstage of E3 is as deep as 800S and also among the best in terms of width and height. E3 also excels in separation (front/back, side to side and up and down) as well as space between instruments. The only issue with soundstage is it collapses around the very left and very right. In vast majority of songs you can hear around instrument very easily.

Edit2: granted E3 mid bass lacks a bit sustain compared with Utopia 2022 but makes up for it with the sub bass amount and definition. It goes way deep. Still no issue with punchy mid bass.

Edit3: my gear is CFA3 + Emm Labs so YMMV

No, the reviewer is spot on. The E3 has some liveliness in the upp mid and lower treble, thanks to an unnatural boost in those areas.

But the bass dynamics are flatter than piss on a plate. Well balanced and extended, but no jump at all.

 

[5ive7even]

I'm contemplating purchasing a pair of E3s or Liric 2s. I am curious on thoughts comparing the E3 to my current headphones which are Meze 109 Pros and Focal Clear MG. I have two DAC/Amps - iFi Gryphon and Chord Mojo 2. I find I prefer the 109 Pros with the Gryphon (xbass and xspace) and the Clear MGs with the Mojo 2 (eq'ed). I can't find E3s near me to demo and am just wondering how the E3s compare to the 109 Pros and Clear MGs. I realize these are open backs and the E3 is closed back. I also realize I may need to get a different desktop amp to fully take advantage of the E3s. Appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

 

[jeffjefferson1]

I'm contemplating purchasing a pair of E3s or Liric 2s. I am curious on thoughts comparing the E3 to my current headphones which are Meze 109 Pros and Focal Clear MG. I have two DAC/Amps - iFi Gryphon and Chord Mojo 2. I find I prefer the 109 Pros with the Gryphon (xbass and xspace) and the Clear MGs with the Mojo 2 (eq'ed). I can't find E3s near me to demo and am just wondering how the E3s compare to the 109 Pros and Clear MGs. I realize these are open backs and the E3 is closed back. I also realize I may need to get a different desktop amp to fully take advantage of the E3s. Appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

Haven't heard anything on your list but the E3...

Are you seeking isolation and low noise leakage? E3 has okay noise isolation and medium noise leakage. It's not anything like an open back's noise leakage but it's still noticeable.

Based on my E3 ownership, it has a slightly smaller soundstage than the he1000se but with better dynamics/slam. If you are seeking an open back experience in the closed back form, I can't recommend it enough.

Chain : Yggy LIM/Qutest -> Flux Mentor/Ragnarok 2 -> E3/he1000se

 

[Dragonmilenario]

I'm contemplating purchasing a pair of E3s or Liric 2s. I am curious on thoughts comparing the E3 to my current headphones which are Meze 109 Pros and Focal Clear MG. I have two DAC/Amps - iFi Gryphon and Chord Mojo 2. I find I prefer the 109 Pros with the Gryphon (xbass and xspace) and the Clear MGs with the Mojo 2 (eq'ed). I can't find E3s near me to demo and am just wondering how the E3s compare to the 109 Pros and Clear MGs. I realize these are open backs and the E3 is closed back. I also realize I may need to get a different desktop amp to fully take advantage of the E3s. Appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

I recommend you try the Liric 2. It has a very similar profile to the 109 Pro but is superior in every aspect, primarily in terms of instrument separation and other technical capabilities. I don’t think the Liric 2 and the 109 Pro are complementary. The Liric 2 is an improved version of the 109’s sound, so keep this in mind. For instance, these days I’m considering selling my 109s because I will no longer use them with the Liric 2.

The E3s are a completely different take and have a different character. They might be a better companion to the headphones you have if you plan to continue using them.

 

[jimaudiodude]

Hey Everyone, new Headfier just got my E3, paired with Cayin N7 Dap and Cayin C9 amp combo, I can't believe the level of detail and great synergy right of the bat.